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By Aram Tolegian, Staff Writer
The stakes of the burgeoning rivalry between the Diamond Bar and Diamond Ranch football teams just got a bit higher. The city of Diamond Bar said in a press release Tuesday it will introduce a Mayor’s Cup to be awarded to the winning team after this year’s game between the neighboring schools. Diamond Bar hosts Diamond Ranch on Oct. 7. “Sports, particularly when they involve youth, have a way of bringing the community together,” Diamond Bar mayor Steve Tye said in the release. “The Mayor’s Cup is a means for celebrating that togetherness.

“What’s great about Diamond Bar having two great varsity football teams is that we have twice the opportunity to score championships that bring positive recognition to our youth and our community.”

For Diamond Bar High, the thought of calling Diamond Ranch a rival may take some getting used to. The Brahmas have a longstanding rivalry with nearby Walnut in what’s annually called the “Branding Iron Game.”

Last year was the first time Diamond Ranch and Diamond Bar played, and that’s probably just because they were forced to, since both teams now are members of the Hacienda League. Diamond Ranch, which opened in 1997, tried unsuccessfully for years to get a game scheduled against Diamond Bar.

“The kids have played against each other in Pop Warner and they’ve grown up together, so I think it’s fitting they’re doing something like this,” Diamond Bar football coach Ryan Maine said. “It adds a
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little something, but the emotion is still there.

“We have a longer history with Walnut that started back in the 1980s, so I would have to say Walnut (is our bigger rival), but I can see Diamond Ranch getting bigger in the years to come.”

Last year’s game wasn’t close, with Diamond Ranch routing the Brahmas 41-0.

“For it to be a bigger rivalry, we have to win,” Maine said.

Before Diamond Bar can even think about the Diamond Ranch game in two weeks, the Brahmas have to figure out a way to slow down West Covina on Friday in the league opener for both teams.

Diamond Bar has injury issues. Linebacker Troy Lanning (concussion) will miss the game, and second-leading receiver Brandon Sanchez has a knee injury and also will miss the game. The Brahmas, though, are likely to get back their best ball carrier in running back Jamaal Clayton, who missed the past two games with an ankle injury.

“We’ve had a couple players step up, but it wears on your team,” Maine said. “It’s a good test to see how you respond.

“West Covina is stacked. We’re just hoping we can come out swinging and make things happen.”

You realize Diamond Ranch is in the Pomona school district and located in the city of Pomona, don’t you?

Depending where you live in the city of Diamond Bar, I believe that Grand Avenue is the line. East of Grand Avenue and you attend Diamond Rancho.

ST G54

DR is officially located in the South West of Pomona..

# For The Record

It shouldnt be a “Mayors Cup” it needs to be named something else..

Call it what you want

The D.R. people can call it a rivalry but Diamond Bar will never see it that way. Diamond bar’s Rival is Walnut, always has been and always will be. D.R’s address is 100 Diamond Ranch Rd. Pomona Ca 91766. The name of D.R should be Phillips Ranch or Pomona Ranch but they tried to fool people into believing that the school was part of Diamond Bar. The truth is, Pomona High should be D.R’s rival, but D.R refuses to play Pomona, especially now that Rice is the head coach over there.

First of all, Diamond Ranch boarders Diamond Bar, Chino, and Pomona, so to say that Diamond Ranch is in Pomona shows a lack of geographical knowledge on your part. Do a little more research before you come on here trying to make excuses as to why this game shouldn’t be a rivalry because of the simple fact that everyone in the city of Diamond Bar knows that Diamond Ranch is the superior team. I understand that Diamond Bar has a longer rivalry with Walnut, but so would Diamond Ranch would DB have accepted to play DR when the game was first proposed; however, the coach, knowing quite well what the outcome would be, never scheduled the game. It wasn’t until they were forced to, that they actually played (and everyone knows what happened). Diamond Bar put up posters last year saying that this was a rivalry game. Obviously the students accept the rivalry.
Mayors Cup- good choice of name, considering half the kids in the city of Diamond Bar go to Diamond Ranch and half to Diamond Bar.
Good Luck to both teams.

Posters

Those “posters” were not posters, but they were just a handful of flyers that said Week 4 vs Diamond Ranch. “Rivalry week”

However, when Walnut came around, there were huge posters with Mustangs portrayed as “My Little Pony” characters and a spirit rallies. There’s a huge difference. Diamond Bar will not see Diamond Ranch as a rivalry any time soon, no matter how badly Diamond Ranch wants it

DR Alum #2

@Call it what you want, you obviously weren’t there last year at the DR DB game, and you very obviously do not know the people of Diamond Bar. That was a rivalry game more so than any high school rivalry game I have seen. Posters were hung everywhere, people were calling each other out in public, the school announcements talked about it every single day, and it was pure and simple rivalry. Also, you really should bust out a map, DR is alot in Diamond Bar, a little in Pomona, and a very little bit in Chino; even the name is a lil bit of DB and Pomona (The nicer part of Pomona is called Philips Ranch). For all those who say geographically, or school district wise they shouldn’t be rivals, you really mustn’t understand what a Rival is. Its alot more emotional than location or politics, it is how the teams feel, its going against your childhood friend on the field like you used to back in the day before school was even relevant, rival teams are an issue of populace not of position. Besides, the real reason we can’t be Rivals is that Diamond Bar can’t hang with the bosses over at Diamond Ranch 😉

Posters

DR Alum #2

I don’t know how it was at DR but posters were not hung everywhere at DB, just a few flyers that said rivalry week, and we did not have any school announcements about the game other than the fact that we play DR this week.

Aaron

I understand sarcasm doesn’t work too well on the internet…but yes I know Diamond Ranch is in PUSD. Calling it the Mayor’s cup makes little send…why not the Diamond or something like that?

pantherdad

I don’t understand what the big deal is, just let the Mayor have is Cup game and move forward, is it really that serious? Why is Diamond Bar so hung up on DR not being a rival? Can you not have more than 1 “rivalry” game?

Looking for some education please…

never ask the mayor anything

i guess we can call it the mayor’s cup when the game is played at diamond bar high. however, every other year we’re going to have to refer to it as the ghetto cup when we play over there at the north ranch campus aka ganisha.
i always have to laugh when i see parents on the north end walking around all decked out in dranch gear from head to toe acting like they are some kind of football powerhouse. i got news for you guys, dranch is under .500 over the last 3.5 years not to mention that you have never so much as even won a league championship let alone a cif championship. and yes, everyone on the south side knows that DB isn’t what they were a decade ago, but atlease we have a history with 6 league championships and 4 cif championships, in a league and upper divsion that dranch has never even dreamed of competing in. what does dranch have? t-shirts that say 41-0 to commemorate the bigest victory in the schools history (lol). seems to me that most of you dranch people have a serious inferiority complex when it comes to db. now why don’t you send your coach down to our school so that he can polish up our trophies and see what a actual championship banner looks like.

Panther Fan

Never ask the mayor anything – obviously you don’t know DR as well as you think you do. Sounds like you haven’t been to the Gym or visited the school trophy case. Please get a life, you resonate of jealousy that DB isn’t what it used to be, having been dropped down FIVE divisions, and still can’t win (should DB be dropped further down?). That the new kid on the block is taking over. Yes DR was not in the kind of league that DB has competed in. DR doesn’t have 4,000 students to be in that type of league either. It is the smallest or one of the smallest schools in the league and fending for themselves quite well considering the circumstances.

Posters – If it was flyers, that’s ok also, according to you the flyers did have “rivalry week” which suggests a rivalry in anyones mind. It didn’t matter if they weren’t huge posters with cartoons drawn on them.

I agree with ST G54, the Mayor’s cup should be called something else. Maybe something to Aarons suggestion with Diamond in it. How about the “Mayors Diamond Cup”.

pantherdad

@ never ask the mayor anything,

I’m feeling for you man, a lot of disappointing times for you as of late. I’m with you though, keep talking about those 6 league championships, maybe folks will forget about last year, and this year for that matter, ’cause things are looking like they’re going to get worse before they get better.

I’ll try to limit my comments, I can tell you’re in a bit of pain right now.

You’ve got Robledo and Aram riding the jock, I know that’s fading too, but ride it while it lasts; I’m pulling for you.

really

diamond bar and diamond ranch were scheduled to play each other in 2006, but last minute diamond ranch backed out to play either Edison or Oaks Christian, not sure which one. diamond bar then had to schedule LA Locke for a year and then Long Beach Jordan. So DB was not afraid to play them, a fact every panther seams to forget.

Panther Fan

@Realy – Would you compete against Edison, or Oaks Christian if given the chance vs. Diamond Bar who was reluctant to schedule any ways. Besides, 2006 was one of the heaviest scheduled years for Diamond Ranch. It didn’t matter which school you mentioned because DR played against Both Edison and Oaks Christian also against Chino Hills, Servite and Ayala in the pre league season.

never ask the mayor anything, mentioned that DR never competed in a league and upper divsion that DB has competed in. True – but they did compete against some of the Top Competition that DB only dreams of playing against.

Grow up

Stop being so defensive. Diamond Bar, you guys have a third rival now (after Walnut and Ayala), deal with it. Diamond Ranch, your school is still located in the city of POMONA, even if it borders Diamond Bar, Chino, or whatever. You guys got what you wanted, so be happy about it. And who cares about championships a decade ago or if Diamond Bar got manhandled last year, the past is the past.

pantherdad

…and the present is the present (9 days and 8 nights)

…a means to an end

Get Real

With the problems cities are having with their budgets right now, Diamond Bar shouldn’t be wasting taxpayers’ dollars with a Mayors’ Cup. I guess Diamond Ranch needed SOMETHING to put in their trophy case and Diamond Bar needed an excuse to dust out theirs. Both of those schools are subpar so quit your whining about rivalries. Neither one can even beat an upper division school (just like their Pop Warner program). It’s even funnier to hear the Diamond Ranch people try to spin it like losing to a D1 team is a big thing. Have fun playing with your little cup DB/Pomona Heights. The rest of the division will play for CIF hardware.

pantherdad

@ Get Real,

Thank you for your concern about Diamond Bar and its taxpayers, I for one live in Diamond Bar and believe in the long run this type of hype around a cross city High School game will do more for the schools and city economy than take away.

Also, just because a school gets excited about what they percieve as a rivalry doesn’t mean they’ve taken their eye off the prize (CIF Championship), no more than UCLA & USC being hyped about their game but ultimately realizing the national championship is the real pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

As for subpar, I would agree when compared to some upper echelon teams/higher pop. schools Diamond Bar and Diamond Ranch fall short, but for what they’ve got to work with they do well in their own space.

On Pop Warner, the Diamond Bar Pop Warner Jr. Midget team has won back to back conference championships the last 2 years and was 2 wins away from going to Florida for the Pop Warner Superbowl last year, yet another indication of you talking out your a$$!

So stop trying to take away from the school’s, coaches, parents, and students; let them have their time. You sound like you have some displaced frustrations.

Get Real

@Pantherdad
Until your sorry overhyped POMONA football program actually does something, you can definitely keep your eyes on the prize. Watch it go to a championship program. You can fill your trophy cases with all kinds of junk and call it what you will, just remember that it’ll just be a reminder of what you “ALMOST” did. Almost the best, in a lower division. Almost won a championship. And ALMOST beat a higher level team. Oh wait, it’s Diamond Ranch I’m talking about. You NEVER come close to beating upper level teams. You get blown out. By the way, wasn’t that ALMOST about the POP warner program in Division 2???

pantherdad

Get Real,

So from your comments you are someone close to home, yes? I hear more displaced frustration surfacing, you should really get that looked into. Why all the hating?!? You should really let out that anger you’ve obviously been bottling up.

Wishing you a speedy recovery…

GO PANTHERS!!!

scarecrow

Yep, not much of a rivalry huh. Well from my few years reading here it seems that along with the amat faithful DBar and DRanch are passionate posters and fans of high school sports who want to win very badly for their schools. You see both schools get many athletes turned over to them and then do what with them??? Not much, hence the frustration of the local parents and kids. But if you ask the players and kids from both schools who they want to win most against, now, I would bet it is Dranch now for DBAR and DBAR for Dranch. But it is not the players doing the talking on these blogs I will bet its the parents and high school fans that are and they have no real feel on the feelings of the kids.

Finally, I was at the game last year and it was by far the largest crowd of the season for both teams. In fact I would bet that DBar had more fans at that game than they had at most of their home games.
Sure does feel like a rivalry. Ask the schools for attendance figures SGV tribune and you will get the truth. Lastly, the posters are spot on Ranch has done nothing really, and DBar has done nothing in the last 10 years (ever since DRanch opened and they could not get their kids anymore).

It matters not what yout write it matters what are actual results from attendance and community involvement. I do not care what city they say DR is in. We know that half the city of Diamond Bar’s students attends Dranch which does not have open enrollment like DBAR. If someone really got into this, one might find out that DRanch has more kids from the City of Diamond Bar enrolled than does DBAR which allows kids from all over to attend their 2,800 plus school.

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